By the time a sale hits your bank, platform fees, processing, shipping, and ad spend have taken 25–40% of it. We reconcile every channel to actual deposits and track true margin by SKU, so you know real profit, not just gross sales.
E-commerce accounting is the discipline of tracking revenue, fees. Cost of goods across multiple sales channels (Shopify, amazon, marketplaces, your own store) reconciling each payout to actual bank deposits. Managing inventory. COGS, and multi-state sales tax so you can see real profit by product. It is meaningfully more complex than traditional retail because revenue arrives net of layered fees and inventory often sits in third-party warehouses.
The core trap: managing to gross sales while platform fees, ad spend, and returns quietly erode the margin underneath. Clean channel reconciliation and SKU-level margin are what surface where the money actually goes.
The accounting shifts with the channel mix and fulfillment model, fees, inventory ownership, and tax obligations all change.
Direct-to-consumer with full ownership of fees and ad spend. We record revenue net of processing and ad cost so the P&L shows what you actually kept.
Referral fees, FBA fees, storage, and inventory sitting in Amazon warehouses that create tax nexus. We untangle the settlement statements into clean books.
Shopify plus Amazon plus marketplaces plus retail. We consolidate channels so margin is comparable and nothing is double-counted.
Deferred revenue, customers lost, and recognition timing. We account for prepaid subscriptions correctly so revenue isn’t overstated.
Two margin profiles, two pricing models, often two tax treatments. We separate them so each channel’s true contribution is visible.
Thin margins where fee and shipping accuracy is everything. We make sure pass-through costs and supplier terms are recorded precisely.
The business-model attributes that make this niche different to account for, and that a generalist bookkeeper usually misses.
Every Shopify, Amazon, PayPal, and Stripe payout reconciled to the actual bank deposit, with fees and refunds broken out, not lumped as net cash.
Referral, FBA, storage, listing, and payment fees can consume 25–40% of a gross sale. Recording revenue net of them is essential to true margin.
Inventory is an asset until sold, then moves to COGS. Landed cost (product plus freight plus duties) and SKU-level tracking drive real gross margin.
Since South Dakota v. Wayfair, economic nexus (often $100K or 200 transactions per state) can create filing obligations in many states at once.
Tracked as contra-revenue, not ignored, otherwise revenue and margin are overstated and tax is overpaid.
Marketing allocated by channel and product so customer acquisition cost and lifetime value are real numbers, not guesses.
A few measures separate a brand that’s scaling profitably from one that’s buying revenue at a loss.
A 20-minute call. No pitch, no obligation. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can help, starting with your true margin after fees.
Talk to an expertRevenue arrives across multiple channels net of layered fees (referral, FBA, processing, and ad spend) and inventory often sits in third-party warehouses. Each payout has to be reconciled to the actual bank deposit with fees and refunds broken out, COGS tracked by SKU, and sales tax managed across many states. Managing to gross sales hides where margin is actually leaking.
Nexus is a connection to a state that creates an obligation to collect and remit sales tax. Since the 2018 South Dakota v. Wayfair ruling, states can require collection based on economic activity alone (commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in a state) even with no physical presence. Amazon inventory stored in a state can also create nexus. Growing sellers often trigger obligations in multiple states without realizing it.
Inventory is recorded as an asset when purchased and only moves to the cost of what you sell when the item actually sells. Tracking landed cost, product plus freight plus duties, at the SKU level is what produces accurate gross margin. Reconciling physical inventory to the books regularly keeps COGS honest and prevents overstated profit.
Typically once revenue crosses roughly $1M, when growth is consuming cash faster than it generates it, or when raising capital. A fractional CFO builds SKU-level margin, manages the cash conversion cycle and inventory financing, and produces investor-ready reporting, without a full-time executive cost.